


Let Me Follow You Down

by elivigar



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dogs, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Swearing, The only reason this is rated T instead of G is cos of a couple of swear words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26548639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elivigar/pseuds/elivigar
Summary: The point is that Luke’s been on a number of dates, and he’s been asked out and asked other people out in several different settings. None of them, however, have been quite as strange and, frankly, disgusting as the one he finds himself in while in the forest on a crisp, sunny day late in May.In which Luke has a mishap thanks to Petunia and Calum is there to witness it.
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Calum Hood
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	Let Me Follow You Down

**Author's Note:**

> This little thing was inspired by [this moodboard](https://ashtcnirwin.tumblr.com/post/629703726079311872), made by the lovely [Em](https://jbhmalum.tumblr.com) (whose fics you should go read btw, if you haven't, cos they're just... lovely, she's at em_writes on here)! Well, it was sorta inspired by the moodboard, because I saw it and it was so disgustingly sweet that it made me wanna write some Cake fluff and after giving it 3.2 seconds of thought and another 1.9 seconds of planning, I went with it since I had yet to write anything Cake, and this is what I ended up doing. Hope some of y'all like it, tysm for reading! [Come talk to me on tumblr if you wanna♥](http://ashtcnirwin.tumblr.com)

In his twenty-six years on planet earth, Luke’s been asked out a fair few times. 

The first time he was asked out, he was fifteen and a pretty girl in his class asked if he wanted to see a movie with her. She blushed and mumbled herself through the request, and Luke remembers feeling so flattered and endeared that he started blushing himself as he stuttered out an acceptance. In hindsight, he reckons that was a pretty normal way for a date-request to go between two awkward, hormonal teenagers. As the years passed and he became less awkward, less scrawny and less prone to outbreaks of acne, he kept being asked out from time to time, and sometimes he was the one to do the asking.

It wasn’t until he was twenty-one that he went on his first date with a guy. Said date came about relatively randomly when he was sitting in the university library with his face buried in a too thick, too mind numbing book about Russian politics. As he sat there, constantly dragging his fingers through his hair, which was in dire need of a solid round of shampoo, someone cleared their throat right behind him, and the next thing he knew was that a bloke roughly the same height and size as himself asked him if he’d wanna get coffee one day. Three years on and Luke still remembers how much he liked the guy’s straight-forwardness, even though he can no longer recall his name.

The point is that Luke’s been on a number of dates, and he’s been asked out and asked other people out in several different settings. None of them, however, have been quite as strange and, frankly, disgusting as the one he finds himself in while in the forest on a crisp, sunny day late in May.

“Petunia, please,” he says, giving the dog’s leash a light pull to get her away from the overflowing trash can she’s desperately trying to get to. She looks at him with reproachful eyes before she ducks her head and obediently continues padding along the wide path.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m the worst,” he says, smiling for no one to see. “I won’t let you eat stuff that’s bad for you, I won’t let you tear down stuff hanging on the fridge, I won’t let you smell random strangers’ trash… Dunno how you could’ve possibly done worse as far as owners go.”

Predictably enough, Petunia pays him no mind, too busy sniffing every leaf and every twig on the ground. They wander further into the forest, Petunia leading and Luke following at a comfortable pace. The path curves through dense clusters of trees, the sun breaking through here and there to bathe the ground in an orange afternoon glow, and the happy chirping from birds is the only sound breaking the silence.

The forest starts thinning out after a while, opening up to reveal a large pond. Luke’s been in the same area enough times to know that while the pond looks perfect for cooling oneself down on hot summer days, it’s filthy and probably the home of an assortment of disgusting creatures. Petunia’s never been one to mind that, however, and Luke has to shorten her leash considerably as they start making their way around the pond in order to avoid having her jump in.

They’ve made it about halfway around the pond when Luke feels something flapping around his foot. Upon inspection, he realises that his shoelaces have come undone. Crouching down, he slips the loop of Petunia’s leash around his wrist and starts retying the laces as fast as he can.

It happens in the flash of a second, and Luke doesn’t stand a chance of reacting in time. One moment, he’s crouched down on the path, and the next, he’s tumbling forward and floating around in grimy, slimy, freezing cold water. It takes him a hot second to realise what’s even happened, but when he does, he doesn’t waste any time before he starts scrambling to stand up straight. He trips over his own feet in his hurry to get out of the water, and lands flat on his belly on the dirt-covered path. Groaning, he hoists himself up on his elbows and starts reigning in Petunia with clumsy, half-hearted, one-handed movements.

“What’s wrong with you, you fucking pest?” he groans as he manages to stagger back on his feet. Petunia’s bouncing around him, tongue hanging out, tail wagging back and forth at an alarming speed. Luke sighs and looks down to inspect his own body; he’s dripping, head to toe, and he doesn’t wanna think about what all the brown, green, yellow and beige stuff clinging to his trousers and jacket is. Nothing good, that’s for sure, if the smell is anything to judge by.

As he stands there, mourning his current predicament, the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps reach his ears, swiftly followed by a shout of, “Holy shit, are you okay?”

Luke discovers the source of a voice in the form of a dark-haired man dressed in workout-clothes, jogging towards him with an almost frightened expression on his face. He slows down when he’s a few paces away from Luke, and walks the last few metres as he stuffs a pair of earbuds in his pocket.

“That was an impressive fall,” the man says as he comes to a complete stop. “You okay?”

Luke smiles weakly. “Wounded pride, soaking wet, freezing cold, covered in shit and annoyed with my dog, but otherwise fine.”

The man laughs. “I noticed you from the other side of the pond,” he says. “Saw you just in time to see you faceplant into the water. I may have had a laugh.”

“Sadist, taking joy in other people’s pain,” Luke says, but can’t help but laugh back, because the whole situation is nothing short of ridiculous.

“Sorry,” the man says as his laughter dies down and settles on a smile. “You should probably get out that jacket before you catch a cold.”

“Yeah, because the wet jumper underneath is doing wonders for my health,” Luke says dryly.

“Right.” Hesitating for a second, the man starts loosening the hoodie that’s tied around his waist, then hands it to Luke. “Here, put this on.”

“What?” Luke asks, then, when he realises the man is serious, shakes his head. “No, I can’t just take your jumper.”

“Yes, you can, because I’m offering,” the man says.

Luke laughs, a little incredulous. “I met you, like, twenty seconds ago, and I don’t even know your name.”

The man shrugs, then holds out a hand. “Calum.”

Accepting the hand and giving it a brief shake, Luke smiles. “Luke.”

“Okay, Luke, now you know my name and I know yours,” Calum says. “And I don’t think there’s a lower limit as to how long you have to have known someone for before you can make a small gesture to help them out.”

Luke hesitates for another moment, but the cold is starting to get to him and Calum’s hoodie looks incredibly comfortable, not to mention _dry_ , so he accepts it with a quiet, “Thank you.” Unzipping his jacket, he drops it to the ground and hurriedly tears off his jumper as well before sliding his arms into the hoodie and zipping it up. His bottom half is still cold and wet, but the feeling of soft fabric against his upper half helps far more than he’d have thought.

“Thank you,” he says again as he gathers up his wet clothes from the ground.

“No problem,” Calum says with a smile. 

It’s only then, when not hyper focused on the situation itself, that Luke notices that Calum has an uncommonly kind face. Warm eyes, gentle smile, cheeks that look soft. It’s a stupid assumption to make about someone he doesn’t really know, but Luke can’t help but think that Calum seems like the kind of person who’ll smile at everything and everyone.

Petunia has sat down next to Luke, occasionally looking up at him as if asking if they’re gonna be on their way soon. She’s sitting perfectly still, though, and doesn’t make a sound, and Luke reckons that she’s probably aware that she’s done something she wasn’t supposed to.

“Well, I should probably get going,” Luke says with a gesture towards his legs.

“I’ll walk with you,” Calum says immediately. “I wasn’t really feeling like jogging today anyway.”

Luke laughs. “Then why did you go?”

Calum shrugs. “Because I’m a masochist as well as a sadist.”

Luke laughs again, and he wonders how many times a person can laugh at a virtual stranger’s comments before it starts getting weird. He opts not to respond, instead giving Petunia’s leash a careful tug to get her moving. She seems happy to have something to do again as she immediately bounces to her feet and starts jogging along the path, the same way as they came.

The path is too narrow for two people to walk comfortably side by side, so Calum trails behind him until it widens out and the pond is left behind them. Truth be told, Luke will be happy if he never sees that damn pond again. As soon as they’re enveloped by the forest again, Calum catches up with Luke and they stroll side by side in comfortable silence.

“What’s your dog’s name?” Calum asks.

“Petunia,” Luke says. “She’s generally well behaved, but she gets excited by things I wish she wouldn’t get excited by.”

“Hence why you wound up taking an involuntary bath,” Calum says.

“I should’ve seen it coming, really,” Luke says. “She’s always been a little too interested in that pond. Or, everything watery, really.”

“What happened, anyway?” Calum asks, a little amused by the sounds of it. “I mean, she’s a big dog, but you’re not exactly tiny and frail yourself, so I don’t reckon she’d be able to just pull you out in the water by sheer strength without any further ado.”

“No, I sat down to tie my shoelaces and she caught me by surprise,” Luke snorts. “She is pretty strong if she puts her mind to it.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet.”

The rest of the walk passes in silence, albeit a comfortable one, and when they reach the treeline and find themselves on the street outside Luke’s house, he draws to a halt. “This is me,” he starts, pointing to his house, looking at Calum, “but I have to get this-” he pulls at the hoodie “-back to you at some point, so do you have a number or an email address or something I can reach you at?”

Calum smiles once again. “Yeah, sure. Do you have your phone on you?”

“No, thankfully, otherwise it’d be ruined by now.”

“Ah, right,” Calum says. Pulling his own phone out of his pocket, he holds it out for Luke to take. “Just save your number and I’ll text you or something.”

Luke’s never been one to actually _fall_ easily, but he’s always had an easy time acquiring a swarm of butterflies in his belly. As he accepts the phone from Calum and their fingers brush, said swarm is large enough to fill his entire stomach and parts of his chest. He makes quick work of typing in his number and saving it under, ‘Wet Moron’, before he hands the phone back to Calum. The sun’s starting to set, leaving the air more cold than crisp, and a shiver courses through Luke’s entire body.

“You should get home and warm up before you really do catch a cold,” Calum remarks, a worried frown forming on his forehead.

Luke grins. “I probably should. But… yeah, just text me or something so I have your number, yeah?” he says, then quickly adds, “So I can give you your hoodie back, I mean.”

Calum nods. “I will.” Licking his lips, he smiles once again, and after a beat, he opens his mouth again. “Feel free to shoot me down if you think it’s too direct or too soon or if you’re not into guys or whatever, but… do you wanna go out sometime?”

Luke’s jaw drops without his consent, and it takes him a second or two to close it. “You’re asking me out?” he asks. “When I probably look less attractive than I ever have in my entire life?”

“Well, I figured that if you look this great covered in shit, I’d love to see what you look like when you’re… well, _not_.”

Chuckling, Luke presses his lips together. Just like the first time a guy asked him out, he can’t help but appreciate Calum’s straight-forwardness. It’s a skill he’s never quite mastered himself, but he nevertheless appreciates the quality in other people. Usually. He appreciates it right now, anyway.

“Yeah,” he says softly. A puff of fog comes out along with the word, and yeah, the temperature’s falling rapidly. “That sounds nice.”

Calum looks surprised. “Huh,” he says, lips tilting downwards as he nods. “Kinda expected you to say no, to be honest.”

“What, you wanted me to say no?” Luke laughs. “Ask me again and I’ll turn you down, if you want.”

“Yeah, that’s what I wanted,” Calum says seriously. “It’s what I do - ask people out and pray for them to decline.”

Luke laughs again - he laughs _again_. “Sorry I ruined it for you.”

“Hm, yeah, you better be.”

Luke hums. “I am. No, but… I’d love to go out with you sometime.”

Calum’s smile as he looks at Luke is wide, and his eyes glint with the remnants of daylight falling from above. “Okay, cool. I’ll text you later, then, and we can figure something out?”

Luke nods quickly. “Yeah, cool.”

“Okay. I’m gonna get going, then, let you get inside.” With a final smile, he adds, “Talk to you later,” then gets his feet moving again. Luke watches Calum jog down the street, eventually disappearing out of sight, before he gets Petunia moving again and goes to unlock his front door.

“Well, baby, you may or may not have ruined my clothes, but at least you got me a date,” he says as he closes the door behind himself and goes to remove Petunia’s leash. Petunia trots into the kitchen, presumably to see if there’s something fun in her food bowl, while Luke goes to the bathroom and strips down to get in the shower.

Once clean, warm, dry and dressed, Luke unplugs his phone from the charger in the kitchen, then takes it with him as he goes to lie down on the couch. It’s not until after he’s turned on the TV that he realises that he already has a text waiting for him.

‘ _Hey, Wet Moron!_ ’ it reads.

Biting his lip on a smile as another swarm of butterflies starts dancing in his stomach. ‘ _Hey :)) ‘Luke’ is a pretty common name, but I figured you wouldn’t have too many others in your contact list called ‘Wet Moron’,_ he types back.

‘ _I’ve got no Lukes, but three other Wet Morons actually,_ ’ comes the response after a minute or so.

Luke laughs for no one to hear. ‘ _Yeah?_ ’

‘ _Nah, not really, you’re the only wet moron in my life right now ;)_ ’ As Luke giggles and tries to figure out what to say to that, another text pops up. ‘ _So, wanna have dinner with me next week? Friday night maybe?_ ’

It’s a bit of a miracle, Luke reckons, that he doesn’t make any typos when he responds, considering how quickly he types. ‘ _Yeah, definitely! What time? And where?_ ’

‘ _I know a good place, if you like Indian food?_ ’

‘ _Love Indian!_ ’

‘ _Great! Does seven o’clock work? I can pick you up :)_ ’

As he types out a quick, ‘ _Yup, sounds great!_ ’ and then tries to recall when he last had a date that included being picked up and having actual _dinner_. He can’t remember. Maybe five years ago?

Petunia climbs up on the couch and collapses next to him with her head in his lap, and he puts his phone down on the table. Scratching her head, he bends down to give her snout a kiss. “Unless he turns out to be a complete psycho, you might have done me a huge favour here,” he murmurs.

Her only response is to snuffle soundly.


End file.
